Saved by Him

by Kristie Leigh

  Hunter looked at me and raised a brow, challenging me to question his skills. I just rolled my eyes. He hasn’t eaten it yet.

  I made my plate as he topped off their salads with dressing and poured us all some sweet tea. I watched Calum pick up a cucumber off his plate after Hunter did. Calum sniffed it and took a bite.

  “Good, right?” Hunter encouraged him, smiling away.

  “Mmm. So yummy.” Calum popped the rest of the cucumber into his mouth and ate it.

  What the fuck? I was sure Hunter could see the shock written all over my face as he was laughing and gloating with his eyes. I wouldn’t admit it, but I was impressed.

  “I can’t even. Where’s my Calum, and what have you done with him?”

  Hunter just laughed at me.

  “No. Seriously though. How did you do that?”

  “Calum and I had a little chat while we were cooking about how important food is to get big and strong. Plus, like I said before, I’m a pretty cool guy, so why not do what I do?”

  “Wow! Can I just say that pretty cool people don’t go around saying that they’re cool?”

  “Haha. Touché.”

  We finished our dinner. Calum ate most of his salad. He didn’t seem to like carrots or radishes, and that was all right by me. He tried them, and that was what counted.

  Since they had made dinner, I cleaned up while they went exploring.

  Since it was getting late, I grabbed Calum’s pajamas for him after I’d tidied up the trailer. I heard them outside and walked out to greet them. Calum was whining and getting upset, trying to hide in Hunter’s side.

  Hunter reached down and lifted him up. “What’s wrong? You were just playing a second ago.”

  Calum just shook his head and whined some more. He rubbed his eyes and turned his head into Hunter’s neck. Poor guy must be exhausted between getting up early and being in the sun all day. I walked up, and he instantly reached out for me.

  “Is someone a little sleepy?” I looked over at Hunter. “Sorry, he gets a little cranky when he’s tired.”

  “That’s okay. We’re all entitled to be cranky when we’re tired.” He rubbed Calum’s back, and my heart skipped a beat.

  “How about a movie? How’s that sound?”

  Calum nodded his head into my shoulder.

  “I was thinking of setting him up on the dining room bed if that’s okay? He can watch a movie in that bed and pass out.”

  “Whatever works best for him.” Hunter smiled.

  Hunter set the bed up since I had no clue what I was doing while I got myself and Calum ready for bed. I saw my phone on the counter and grabbed it just to make sure I didn’t have any important messages. Taylor had tried to call a couple of times, and I had a million unread texts from her along with more Instagram notifications than I think I’d received in a lifetime.

  Bestie: OMG! That is the best picture ever!

  Bestie: Hello?

  Bestie: Ugh! You’re so annoying. Why aren’t you answering me?

  Bestie: That post was so sweet. You haven’t even liked it yet?

  Bestie: Holy shit. Have you seen it?

  Bestie: You’re lucky I love you because anyone else would be blocked without a response by now. WTF, Jules?

  I was laughing so hard I could hardly breathe. What the hell was she talking about?

  “Everything okay over there?” Hunter looked amused by my hysterics.

  “Yeah, just Taylor. She must have been calling and texting all day. I haven’t looked at my phone, so she’s freaking out that I haven’t answered. I guess I need to see what she’s talking about.”

  Me: Sorry. I’ve been busy. You know I’m away. I left my phone in the trailer all day.

  The bubbles popped up as she started to type immediately.

  Bestie: Finally!

  Me: OMG! Are you talking about the pic I posted of Calum and Hunter sitting side by side?

  Bestie: Um no, although adorable. I’m talking about this one.

  I touched the link, and it brought up a beautiful picture of a girl on a dock. I saw the username was Hunter’s and that it was posted today.

  Bestie: Did you read the caption?

  Me: Hold, please…

  I flipped back to the photo and read the caption I’ll never tire of this view as long as you’re in it #mostbeautifulgirl #firstlove #thebestisyettocome #ihope

  That was me! I was in complete disbelief. It was a gorgeous photo. I looked up at Hunter, who was staring at me.

  “You okay?” He furrowed his brow.

  “Uh, yeah. Sorry. She’s just being dramatic.” My phone pinged again, and I looked away from him.

  Bestie: Waiting…

  Me: Ummm. I don’t know what to say.

  Bestie: I told you that boy loves you, and he posted that for everyone to see.

  Me: HOLY SHIT!

  I was a little freaked out. I mean, I had a feeling he felt that way, but to see it staring me in the face was a totally different story.

  Bestie: Exactly. How are things going?

  Me: Great. He’s so good with Calum, and Calum has been following him around and copying him the whole time.

  Bestie: Eek! Girl. Don’t you dare ever let that boy go again.

  Me: Taylor…

  Bestie: Don’t Taylor me. I’m your bestie, and I know what’s best for you and for my Godson.

  Me: I gotta go. Calum is cranky and ready for bed. We’re going to watch a movie.

  Bestie: Sure. Use your kid as an excuse. Text me later.

  Me: I will.

  I set down my phone, ignoring the notifications from Instagram. I needed a minute. “Can you watch him for a sec? Just need to brush my teeth.”

  “Of course. You sure you’re all right? You look a little pale.”

  “Yeah, just tired. Probably from all the fresh air.” I plastered on a smile and headed back to brush my teeth and catch my breath.

  After brushing my teeth and splashing some water on my face, I took a deep breath and walked back out there.

  “Who’s ready for some robots?”

  “Me!” Calum threw his little arms in the air excitedly.

  “I’m going to get changed and be right back.”

  I avoided eye contact by popping the movie Real Steel in the DVD player. I was so glad I brought it since Calum was still whining.

  “Sounds good.”

  When I heard the master door click shut, I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. I tucked Calum in and lay down beside him just as Hunter came out in a white T-shirt and low-hanging grey joggers. Geez, even in sweats, he was sexy.

  “Hunter, too.” Calum patted the bed beside him.

  I looked up to find a surprised look on Hunter’s face. I thought he might be stunned as he didn’t move.

  I stretched my foot out and nudged him, and he looked at me. “Hey, you going to refuse that face?”

  He seemed to snap out of it and smiled. “Of course not. Let me lock up.” Hunter locked up the trailer and came to lie on the opposite side of Calum.

  The movie started, and we all settled in to watch.

  14

  Hunter

  Watching these two sleep was quickly becoming one of my favorite pastimes. They were both out cold. Jules’s arm was draped across Calum’s legs. Calum was sleeping on his back with his eyes slightly open, but he was definitely asleep. It was kind of cute.

  I could stay up and watch them sleep all night, but I was thinking the faster I got to sleep, the faster morning would come. A day with them awake was even better. I turned off the TV and the side light and curled up facing them and rested my hand on Jules’s.

  I woke to the attack of Calum. He was jumping on my waist and bouncing up and down. Opening my eyes, I blinked until my vision was clear.

  “Well, good morning to you too, Calum.” I chuckled. As odd as it sounded, I could wake up like this every morning. I heard Jules giggle beside me.

  “Wake up. Wake up,” Calum shouted. />
  I laughed. “All right. I’m up. Who wants to help make breakfast?”

  “Me! No touch stove.” His raspy voice was so cute.

  “You got it. How about we make some French toast and bacon?”

  Jules piped in. “That sounds so good. Can I at least help by making coffee?”

  Trying not to laugh while thinking about her last breakfast escapade was difficult. Looking over at her, my thoughts shifted. Even though she had just woken up and her hair was all over, she was still the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. I was staring, but I couldn’t care less.

  “What? Do I have something on my face?” She wiped at her mouth and then her under eyes. Typical Jules, always thinking the worst.

  “Nope. Just taking you in. That’s all.” I reached over and brushed the hair out of her face. I couldn’t help it. I had to touch her. I ran my knuckle over the soft skin of her cheek. “Yes, you can make the coffee.”

  She smiled and touched my hand. “Sounds like a plan.” Her voice was meek, and she cleared her throat.

  Calum flopped over toward his mom and rubbed her face, copying what I did but in a much rougher way and then leaned in and kissed her, big and wet on the cheek.

  “Good idea, buddy.” I leaned over him and kissed her on the other cheek.

  “Aren’t I just the luckiest lady on the planet, having you two boys giving me kisses?” She put her hand to her heart.

  Grabbing Calum, she tickled him, but I saved him by tickling her.

  “All right. I give,” she said between laughs.

  I stopped my attack and jumped out of bed. “Let’s do this, Calum.”

  He stood up and jumped into my arms. I grabbed him at the last second as he’d caught me off guard.

  “Whoa there, buddy. You gotta give an old man some warning.”

  He just giggled.

  After taking care of business in the bathroom and brushing our teeth side by side, I pulled out the bucket Calum had used as a stool yesterday, and we washed our hands in the kitchen sink.

  “I’ll crack the eggs, and you mix them, okay?”

  “Yup,” he said, holding out the fork, ready for duty.

  I rolled up his sleeves, and we went to work. Jules started the coffee and grabbed her phone. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

  “Taylor, again?”

  She looked up and laughed. “Yeah. She’s going on and on about something.”

  “What’s it this time?”

  She hesitated and looked away. “Nothing important.”

  I didn’t push her. If it were something I needed to know, she would tell me.

  After cracking six eggs and adding milk to the bowl, I stood behind Calum and helped him whisk them with a fork. He looked over at Jules, and I heard her phone snap a picture.

  “You better have gotten a good angle on that one. No neck rolls.” My tone was playful as I messed with her.

  She laughed at my ridiculousness. “I’ll get your approval on this one before I post it on Instagram. Although, your legs might have looked fat in the one I posted yesterday.” She was still laughing, but I wasn’t.

  Did she say Instagram? I didn’t think she went on there. I checked yesterday when I posted the photo of her, and she hadn’t posted in over a year. I figured it was safe to post without her seeing. I wondered if she’d seen it. No, she couldn’t have. She would’ve said something; I was sure.

  She had a huge smile on her face as she typed away on her phone.

  “What are you posting over there? It better all be good.”

  “Of course it is.” She didn’t even look up from her phone.

  I tried to forget about it, going back to cooking for Calum. “Okay, so now that the eggs are all mixed up, we need to put some butter in the pan to melt. Then we dunk the bread in the egg. Do you think you can do that?”

  He nodded, smiling big. I had to help him a bit, but he did a great job.

  “I’m going to jump in the shower. I’ll be quick, so I don’t use too much water.”

  “Sounds good.” My dick took notice, but I stopped its train of thought. Not now. I cleared my mind of thoughts of a wet Jules on the other side of the thin wall and got back to breakfast.

  When we were done. We took the food outside and ate.

  “Oh my God. This is so good, guys. Seriously, I don’t know how I’m supposed to go back to the real world of my cooking.”

  I looked over at Calum. “Sorry, buddy, truly.”

  “Hey, it’s not that bad. But I do dream of winning the lottery and hiring a chef. That would be amazing.” She sighed. Or she could just marry me, and I’d cook every meal for the rest of our lives.

  “It sure would be awesome to have someone live-in that cooked this well, huh?” I cocked a brow, but she wasn’t watching me.

  She closed her eyes, savoring her food, humming her response.

  “You know, my services could be bought for a price.” That got her attention.

  “I don’t think I could afford you. I don’t make enough money.” She laughed.

  “Who said anything about money? You’ve got plenty of what I want and need.”

  She nearly choked on her food, and I burst out laughing. She took a sip of her coffee, washing it down.

  “Well, in that case, you can move in as soon as you do the renovations. On second thought, how about before? That way you’re there twenty-four seven and can get them done quicker. You can build your own dream kitchen and then work in it.”

  “Works for me.” Little did she know that I would take her up on that in a heartbeat. I would do anything to be with her every day.

  “More, pease.” This kid loved him some breakfast. He’d already had two pieces of French toast, three pieces of bacon, and some fruit, and Jules reached over to get him some more.

  “I got it,” I said, wanting to do everything I could for these two. I was aware I as playing dad, and it was easy to do when I was on vacation, but I was really enjoying the family life even if it was only temporary.

  She smiled and sipped her coffee. I cut up another piece of French toast and put it on his plate along with more bacon and fruit.

  “Tank you.”

  I ruffled his hair. “Anytime, buddy.”

  After breakfast, Jules cleaned up while I ran around with Calum. When she came back out, I let her know I was going to take a quick shower.

  “Sounds good. I’m going to walk along the lake with Calum for a few.”

  “Okay. When you get back, maybe we can do some fishing.”

  “Me go fishing, too, Hunter?” His eyes went wide.

  “Wouldn’t go without you, big guy.”

  Calum jumped around so excited. I couldn’t wait to see him catch a fish.

  “I’m going to take a quick shower, and you’re going to go on a walk. Then we can go fishing. Okay?”

  “Yup. Me go walk.”

  I smiled down at him, ruffling his hair again. I couldn’t help it. He was just so cute.

  Wanting to get in and out of the shower quickly, I rushed to the trailer excited to take them fishing.

  When I got out of the shower, I walked past the counter, and Jules’s phone lit up with a text. I knew I shouldn’t look, but I did, anyway.

  Bestie: Looking like a cozy family on IG.

  She followed it up with a few heart eyes. What did she post on Instagram?

  I needed to see what was on there, so I grabbed my phone and opened the app. I had over fifty notifications. I clicked to see what they were. The majority were likes on the photo I’d posted of Jules on the dock. I clicked to see the comments. They ranged from Get her back, man to What a beautiful pic to I don’t know why you bother. That last one was from Sherry. I should’ve blocked her a long time ago.

  I decided to check on Jules’s account to see what she’d posted. The first photo was of Calum and me making breakfast this morning. It was a great shot. I was standing behind him, helping him with the eggs as he looked over at Jules, smiling so big,
and I was smiling down at him. She’d used some sort of filter and captioned it What a way to start the day #twofaveguys #icouldgetusedtothis #longweekendaway

  I scrolled to the next one and saw it was a picture of us from the night before when Calum was copying the way I was sitting. We were both leaned back and staring out over the water. The caption read I think my little man has a new hero at the #futurecottage #socute #copycat #longweekendaway

  I sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at the pictures again, reading over the captions a few times, trying to dissect every word.

  I mean really, she didn’t post anything telling, just two pictures of Calum and me. I fell back onto the bed and sighed. I felt like a damn teenager trying to find out if my best friend liked me all over again.

  Getting up, I decided not to worry about it. As Stephanie always said, it’s meant to be so it will be. I just hoped she was right.

  Just as they were walking back, I was heading down to the dock with fishing gear in hand. I bought worms for today, more for Calum than for the fish. I thought he would think it was cool. Calum ran down the dock toward me, nearly bowling me over where I sat by jumping into my arms. “Hey there, buddy. How was your walk?”

  He cupped my face, squishing my cheeks. He seemed to be examining me for something. I wasn’t sure what.

  Jules cleared her throat, breaking the moment. “Are we going to fish or what?”

  Calum jumped up, shouting excitedly.